Paper straws are even better for construction than plastic ones because they are heaps sturdier and so you can build more elaborate models.

We can ship paper straws to you once NZ is in Alert Level 3 and we've got some packs of multicoloured crafting straws made up ready to go or purchase packs to make sea creatures

Got heaps of skills? Make a full underwater scene like the headdress from our Wearable Arts outfit (straws are used as the coral skeleton).

Got no skills? Well, I made this spider (stop laughing!)

Lacking ideas? Just google straw crafts - anything you can make with plastic straws you can make with paper ones! Send us your photos and we'll stick them up on Facebook :)

Straw Free September, it’s become an annual, global movement. A month where we are encouraged to politely refuse the straw, helping spark thought and discussion around the massive impact cheap, disposable single-use plastics are having on our environment. It is hoped, that this simple trigger encourages us to look more widely at what other unnecessary and easily replaceable plastics we rely on as part of our daily lives.

Plastic Straw rescued from the sea by Clean Coast Kiwi

However, for some people in our communities being strawless is problematic or even impossible. Those with physical needs, disabilities, people in medical care or the elderly, may rely on a straw to help keep them hydrated. Many of our product lines are developed in response to customers feedback or requests and our range of biodegradable bendy straws has been introduced to meet the needs to these markets. It means that conscious carers are able to support clients while also avoiding the long-term damage that plastics cause.

As our southern hemisphere Spring kicks into action and before Plastic Straw Free September comes to an end, now is a great time to take stock and make changes. In addition to the annual spring clean why not consider an eco-clean too? How about swapping out 3 things from your daily routine that use plastic? It could be as straightforward as a traditional toothbrush for a bamboo alternative, plastic bin liners for paper ones, reusable beeswax wraps for cling wrap or a plastic dish brush for a bamboo scrubber. Visit our store today and get your green glow on by making a simple swap.

www.rubbishwhisperer.co.nz

OWNERS & MANAGERS: DANIEL MENDOLA & ALLY DODSON

This place is truly one of a kind. Owned and managed by a driven, inspiring young couple who place great importance on delivering a high quality sustainable tourism experience, it is set on the beachfront of a picture-postcard lush tropical paradise. The family friendly resort attracts active, independent, nature loving guests keen to make the most of the impressive marine environment and jungle wildlife.

What did you want to be as a kid?

Ally – an archaeologist

Dan – a fighter pilot

What living person do you most admire, and why?

Ally – Serena Williams because she is strong, believes in her convictions and carries them through. She doesn’t let critics or negative press get in the way of her achievements on or off the court.

What is your favorite quote?

Dan - “Never look down on someone, unless you’re helping them back up.” (Jesse James)

What people say about our straws?

Most of our guests love that we have a no plastic rule at the resort.  It’s all about education, with staff and guests - not expecting a straw with every drink they buy. Hopefully, it will soon be the norm that plastic straws aren’t served by anyone, anywhere across the world.

What is your proudest moment?

It is so hard to isolate a single proud moment, however, living an authentic life without conforming to mainstream society or what is expected of us as people.  Also, working hard as employers and trying to help others, who may not be as fortunate as us.

What is your biggest work-related challenge?

Waste management and educating local staff about the need to be plastic free so that they look after our village and their country. Most guests are happy we have banned plastic from the resort but there are still some who automatically expect plastic bottled water.  We offer free filtered water and we encourage guests to bring a reusable flask with them.

Why should other cafes / people make the swap to paper straws?

Every little helps - slight changes worldwide will have a massive impact, especially for the coming generations. 

How do you relax?

If we have a couple of days off from the resort we love a jungle hike to explore less well known spots on the island.

What keeps you awake at night?

The sound of the ocean and the jungle - it’s super loud here in Samoa!

What will you do when you retire?

We would like to enjoy time traveling to new places and visiting new countries, but we have heaps of ideas so will be working for a few years yet!

What impact has swapping the straws made on your business?

It’s something we set as a business goal in 2016 and have achieved – it is awesome when a guest mentions they have noticed we have no plastic bottles or straws.  We are hoping for a plastic free Samoa soon.

FIND OUT MORE:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

CAFÉ NAME: Moon Under Water

LOCATION: 152 Somerfield St, Christchurch

MANAGER / OWNER: Matt Kamstra

Sum up your pub in 5 words

local community, not just beer

What did you want to be as a kid?

A fighter pilot I think, until my bad eyesight caught up with me. I went to university with the aim of becoming a secondary teacher but that never flew. I fell into hospitality about 22 and I've been at it ever since

What living person do you admire and why?

I've come across so many inspirational people in this line of work, from seemingly very ordinary people doing extraordinary things, through to famous people who just wanted a refuge in a quiet corner sipping on a pint. It can be a very rewarding and inspiring job. 

What do people say about our straws?

People are overwhelmingly positive, some even high five us! The feedback has been 100% positive and people are naturally inquisitive.

What is your proudest moment?

Finally opening my own pub - I've spent 17 years in the industry with the last 12 managing for other people, so it was about time!

What is your biggest work related challenge?

I've never been good on the work/life balance. Owning my own business hasn't exactly helped with that but I've got some fantastic staff that I'm confident to leave holding my baby, so to speak.

When are you happiest?

On my bike, with the wind through what's left of my hair!

Why should other cafes/people make the switch to paper straws?

Why the hell did we ever switch to plastic for everything anyway?

What will you do when you retire?

I seriously don't ever see myself retiring. Handing over the administrative rains definitely but I want to do this until I die, in whatever capacity I am capable.

What impact has swapping the straws made on your business?

There was never any thought of having plastic straws. Our next step is our in-house composting and worm farm. We want to create as little landfill as we possibly can.

FIND OUT MORE:

www.moonunderwater.co.nz

www.facebook.com/moonunderwaternz

www.instagram.com/moonunderwaternz 

With NZ Sea Week coming up next week we have become so excited about it all and we decided to made a few critters to celebrate with! Purchase your Sea Themed Craft Pack now to make your own – be sure to send us photos!!!

Jellyfish

What you need:

Paper cup or paper pottle
Needle, knife or scissors for puncturing holes
Fabric scraps (or anything tentacle like)

• Puncture small holes through the side of the cup all the way around the edge.
• Thread your tentacles through the holes

Urchin

What you need:

Paper cup or paper pottle
Needle, knife or scissors for puncturing holes
Various coloured straws

• Roll un the lip of the paper cup to make a stumpier base for the urchin
• Puncture small holes through the entire cup (be careful not to do them too close together)
• Cut straws on an angle to create pointy ends
• Stick straws through the holes to get your spiky urchin

Turtle

What you need:

1.5 straws
Scissors
Fabric scraps (or anything similar to wrap around)

• With 3 straw pieces the same size (we used 3 half straws) flatten them with your fingers
• Hold them so the centres are crossing and either glue or pin to stay in place
• Tie a piece of fabric around the centre
• Start wrapping the fabric around the legs of the turtle as pictured
• Keep going until you reach nearly the end of the straws and tie a knot and tuck the fabric ends away.
• Draw on eyes with a pen if you like

Stingray

What you need:

1 thick straw
1 Flexible straw
1 Paper pottle
Pen for drawing eyes
Scissors
Glue

• Unroll the paper pottle by undoing the top lip
• Wrap the flattened paper pottle over the large straw
• Cut the large straw to the size of the circle
• Glue the paper onto the straw and glue the flexible straw to the inside of the large straw
• Bend the flexible straw to create the stingray tail
• Draw eyes on the top of the stingray

Fish

What you need:

Any straw pieces left over
Fabric scraps (or similar)
Pen for drawing eyes
Scissors

• Thread 4 pieces of straw onto your fabric
• Pull the fabric tight to get the straws to make a diamond shape
• Tie a knot in the fabric ends and cut to desired length for the tail

Coral

With any tiny left over bits of straws you can assemble them to make an elaborate coral! Either use oasis (as we did), glue to paper or place into sand for a temporary setting. 

CAFÉ NAME: The Good Spot Caravan

LOCATION: 34 Anderson Road, Wanaka

MANAGER / OWNER: Flair McKay

The Good Spot Caravan is nestled next to the Good Rotations bike shop in the industrial area off Anderson Road in Wanaka. Owner Flair and her delightful team have thoughtfully created a positive, relaxed, fun, retro styled outdoors environment where you can enjoy an excellent coffee and a delicious snack. They embrace up-cycling, low waste and reduced single use plastics wherever they can. No wonder is always busy – lots to applaud here!

Sum up your café in 5 words…. Funky Retro Delicious Coffee Food

What did you want to be as a kid? Travel as a nomad on my horse through Mongolia - I’m still dreaming of doing this.

What living person do you most admire, and why? Currently Jacinda Arden; an amazing woman bringing big change to New Zealand politics.

What is your favorite quote? “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt in the heart.”  (Helen Keller)

What people say about our straws? They can be surprised they are made of paper and able to be composted. They love the look of them.

What is your proudest moment? Watching my child grow up and all the amazing things she is achieving.

What is your biggest work-related challenge? Managing my staff and maintaining a happy and balanced work environment.

When are you happiest? When I am hanging, celebrating and adventuring with my friends and loved ones.

Why should other cafes / people make the swap to paper straws? Because it is reducing waste in our environment, and plastic straws are a needless plastic resource.

How do you relax? By doing acro yoga, yoga, rock climbing, running or by reading a book.

What keeps you awake at night? Thinking about all the jobs I need to do!

What will you do when you retire? No idea, I’ll know when I get there.

What impact has swapping the straws made on your business? It’s helped make people more aware of plastic waste, and the retro look suits the Good Spot Caravan!

FIND OUT MORE:

The Good Spot - Facebook

The Good Spot - Instagram



The global consumer movement targeting single-use plastic straws is completely justified. Plastic straws are not recyclable and contribute significantly to manmade waste that ends up in landfill and litters our oceans. It is estimated that in New Zealand we use around 200 million plastic straws every year. In the United States, people use more than 500 million straws a day – that’s over 182 billion a year. 

We are strong advocates for saying no to plastic by providing biodegradable and reusable straws. However, before we can change consumer behaviour, it’s important for people to understand the difference between common straw products and associated environmental impacts.  

Plastic straws 

Plastic straws have a short life-span as they are designed as a single-use product which we use to consume drinks before carelessly throwing them away.  

It is a well-known fact that a single plastic straw can take up to 200 years to decompose. Even so, the negative environmental impact of plastic straws may come as a surprise given how small and thin the average straw is. Millions of straws end up in the ocean, where fish and marine mammals can ingest the plastic. Studies show that an estimated 71 per cent of seabirds and 30 per cent of turtles have plastic in their stomachs.  

Plastic straws are made out of petroleum bi-product polypropylene, which is similar to the fuels we put into our cars. When straws begin to breakdown, they release harmful toxins that pollute the environment. When exposed to hot water or steam, plastic straws can easily melt and leak toxins. 

To do your part to stop to the use of plastic straws is easy; don’t buy them in supermarkets and when ordering a drink, ask for a non-plastic straw.  

PLA straws 

PLA stands for polylactic acid which is made from renewable resources, such as sugarcane or corn starch. Naturally, one would assume that since PLA Straws are derived from natural ingredients that it would be better for the environment. However, this is not always the case and can often be misleading.  

The issue with PLA straws is that people think they are buying an environmentally-friendly product. Although PLA is biodegradable, PLA straws and other PLA products become another form of plastic that will take years to breakdown in landfills and the ocean. PLA straws need to be composted under specific conditions and New Zealand does not yet have common facilities to compost PLA based products, forcing them to end up in landfills.  

It is a common misconception that biodegradable PLA products are great alternatives to general plastic, however it is only great in theory as they still have a negative impact on the environment.   

 Paper straws  

Paper straws are by far the most environmentally-friendly option. Paper straws breakdown quickly (they start to breakdown within three days if they end up in our oceans), and are compostable.  

It is important however to research the brand or manufacturer before purchasing a paper straw product and check customer reviews.  

There is a bit of controversy around paper straws as some brands use harmful chemicals when manufacturing the straw in order to overcome common complaints such as paper straws getting soggy too quickly or the colour of paper straws leaching into drinks. Paper straws are also slightly more expensive than the more commonly-used plastic straw, which are usually priced around $1.99 per bag in the supermarket.  

However, if you buy better brands, such as those The Rubbish Whisperer sells, you will find that there was no need for plastic straws in the first place.  

The Rubbish Whisperer only sells Aardvark-branded paper straws which are a suitable alternative to plastic because they quickly decompose and are user-friendly. Aardvark paper straws are 100 per cent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Union (EU) approved, compostable with the ability to decompose in 30-60 days. They do not contain bees wax, are biodegradable and will not fall apart in your chilled drink. There is even a bendable paper straw option, which is great for hospital patients, people with physical disabilities and children.  

While paper straws may cost a little more, the feel-good emotion you get from a refreshing drink will only get better when you know your straw won’t have a negative impact on the environment.  

Stainless steel straws  

Stainless steel straws are the way to go should you want to reduce plastic waste and help save the environment. Although the most expensive option when compared to its plastic and paper counterparts, you won’t have to buy another pack of straws again.  

Stainless steel straws are made out of, as its name suggests, stainless steel. It’s the same material used to make common cutlery, so it is safe to use and chemical-free.  

There are many reasons to use stainless steel straws, mostly because they are reusable and easy to clean, have a long-lifespan and are dishwasher safe. The Rubbish Whisperer sells its stainless steel straws with a custom-designed cleaning brush to effectively clean inside the straw and remove unwanted residue, which can be caused by fruit smoothies. Environmentally-friendly if it is continuously reused, and even better, passed on, stainless steel straws won’t impact the taste of the drink you’re consuming, look great at dinner parties, barbeques and events and they don’t create any more waste.  

There is already a huge amount of plastic rubbish floating in the sea, causing a great deal of damage. We can't change what's happened in the past, but we can change our actions for the future. In Plastic Free July, which items are you going to swap for a reusable or biodegradable alternative?

The ocean covers 72 % of the planet and is home to 97% of life on Earth. It drives and moderates our climate and weather and is ultimately the source of the water we drink. But every year we are responsible for more than 7 million tonnes of plastic rubbish making its way into the sea. With 80% of this rubbish coming from the land it is time for us to make some smarter choices so the planet is preserved for future generations.

Recent reports of the waste washing up on Henderson Island were shocking. Despite being an uninhabited island and part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, the island had the highest density of plastic rubbish anywhere in the world. Of the 15 most common items appearing on their beaches, 10 were plastic. Luckily, we can easily replace these items in our own homes with environmentally friendly alternatives that don’t cost the earth!

So, with plastic bags taking between 100-400 years to breakdown and plastic bottles taking up to 450, the choice to make a change seems simple. Take a look at The Rubbish Whisperer’s products page for paper straws, stainless steel straws, reusable produce bags and lunch pockets - feel good about the future you are creating from this July forwards.